Edit: I tried to fix some of the spelling mistakes. I usually use Google Docs and it catches them, but it must've not worked to the degree I would've liked.
Chapter Six:
"Another cigarette?" Gwyneth asks, disapproval blatant in her voice.
Louis rolls his eyes and nods. Gwyneth plucks it out of his fingers and sets an alarm clock on his nightstand.
Louis asks, "Why is that here?"
I told you I'd get you one if you didn't get up on time." Gwyneth says, "I'm a girl of my word. Take it and hurry up, breakfast has started."
Louis follows Gwyneth to the dining room and takes his place next to Gwyneth.
Charlie asks, "Wasn't that your outfit from yesterday?"
Louis doesn't reply, instead, he turns towards his father.
"Nice to see you've joined us, son." King Jonathan says. Clearing his throat, he announces the day's schedule, "Today is all about putting in the last minute details for the selected. Louis, you are finalizing a list of the girls, getting their names printed, and putting them into huge bowls by province, so we can keep the illusion that it's random. Charlene and Gwyneth, you two are preparing a schedule for the selected. Rosalind, you shall be assigning maids and a guard to every girl. The Report is"
The family starts their meal. Rosalind and Gwyneth participate in forgettable small talk, King Jonathan has the local paper with him, Charlie is on her phone, and Louis quickly dismisses himself from the table.
Louis muses out loud, "Who should fill Denbeigh?"
He holds the files of three impressive young ladies. Once again, he looks at the form and picture of Juniper West. The nineteen year old was wearing a gold and black mini dress which displayed her various tattoos, and her hair was styled gorgeously.
Reading her form, Louis says, "She's a drummer in a band. That's not a typical five job."
He looks up the band. The first result is a cover they did of an older song called, "Rasputin".
Louis soon starts muttering the lyrics along.
"She is the only one of these three with actual potential to do something with her life," Louis claims to himself, "And she is already a mild celebrity. Plus she shows ambition and drive. Joining the music industry isn't an easy thing to do."
He tosses the other two forms in the trash, "Welcome to the Selection, Juniper."
"Gwen, the weekly schedule seems repetitive." Charlie notes, "Look, its four days of lessons, a day dedicated to getting ready for the Report, a day of just being together, and then time to yourself."
"There will obviously be disruptions in the schedule, but we should have an order of things. By doing it this way, we can show the girls how the palace should be ran." Gwen replies.
Charlie responds, "It still sounds boring."
"The selection will be fun." Gwyneth tells her, "Trust me."
"What about the first day?" Charlie asks, "You can't just start with lessons."
"That's makeovers and meetings." Gwen answers, "Remember, you have to meet with them too."
"I remember." Charlie stands and leaves, "I'll return soon. This is boring me."
"Fine." Gwyneth tries to tell Charlie, who is already gone.
When the family is seated for dinner, a tense air hovers over them.
"Hey," Louis tries starts the conversation, but he doesn't get a response, "I finished my list. It wasn't easy if I'm being honest."
"That's good, son." Queen Rosalind replies, absentmindedly swirling her glass.
The table once again is at a standstill.
"So…" Rosalind says, "How was planning?"
"Charlie left halfway through because she deemed the activity uninteresting." Gwen replies, sipping her drink.
Charlie comments, "She was planning something repetitive."
"Hey, it couldn't have been as worse as my Selection schedule." Rosalind laughs, "I had etiquette classes daily and history lessons on things I already knew. They'd start at six am and last until six pm. The only break was for lunch at noon. Breakfast was whatever you smuggled into the lessons."
"At least your selection was short." Louis notes.
King Jonathan responds, "The shortest to date; it was only a month and a half. Louis, yours shall be longer."
"Sure…" Louis replies.
King Jonathan brings the conversation back to him, "Now, tonight is an important night for the future of Illéa. Louis, act like you've never seen these names in your life and, for the rest of you, don't do anything to derail the night. I'm especially talking to you Charlie."
"Okay dad." Charlie says, not even looking up from her phone, "Whatever you say."
"Breathe Louis." Gwyneth says. They can hear Ryan Fontaine give his usual opening remarks.
Louis retorts, "I am."
"It's not like you're getting married yet." Gwen notes, "Now that day will be stressful. All you need to do is pick a piece of paper from the bowls and read the name."
"Yeah, Louis." Charlie says, putting her phone on a table, "This is nothing. We've been on the Report since we were born. Stop acting like this is the end of the world."
"Yeah, it's not like I'm announcing which girl could possible be my wife…" Louis replies, "Oh, wait. I am."
"...And may I have the honor of introducing Illéa's beloved royal family back to my stage!" Ryan gives the royal family a shining smile from across the stage. They all walk out with smiles on their faces, half of which are there for the sake of the camera.
They sit in their usual seats and say their generic hellos.
Ryan catches the attention of the audience, "...And now, onto the main event. Tonight, Prince Louis will be announcing the Selected!"
The crowd cheers as he stands up. Itching for a cigarette, Louis instead heads up to the first bowl, "To start us off, we have Elizabeth Adams, Allens, Five!"
Faint applause comes from the crowd.
"From Angeles, we have…" Louis takes a moment to look at the slip of paper, "Tabitha Fontaine!"
A roar of applause comes from the crowd as the picture of the former child star is shown behind him.
Louis announces Atlin through Calgary with varying levels of applause.
"Letitia Rush, Clermont, Three!" The picture of a girl with pretty brown hair and blue-green eyes was projected onto the screen.
Louis waits for the applause to die down before he announces the next person, "From Carolina, we have Briar Elizabeth Netting, Two!"
The eldest daughter of Carolina's governor is shown onto the screen. The applause takes a bit longer to settle.
Columbia and Dakota both inspire little applause.
"Juniper West, Denbeigh, Five!" Louis resists the urge to mutter along with her cover of Rasputin while he waits for the applause to settle down.
Louis cracks a smile at the energy from the crowd, "Navidad Magdalena Muñoz, Seven, Dominica!"
A couple of gasps come from the crowd and Louis stifles a laugh. The applause quickly dies down and Louis gets through the next couple of provinces.
He gets to Labrador and reads, "Lucia Hanover, Labrador, Four!"
Applause is given to the pretty girl with brown hair and sunglasses on.
He goes onto the next providence, "Madison Louise Cooper, Five, Lakedon!"
A girl with long blonde hair and chocolate eyes is shown on the screen.
Charlie attempts to hide her scowl as Louis announces the next girl, "Cora Alexandra Holland, Three, Likely!"
Louis announces two more provinces before getting to one the audience reacts strongly towards.
"Maria Vellez-Cavallero, Paloma, Seven!" The crowd whispers of another seven, but it's muffled by coerced clapping.
Louis gets through six more provinces before getting extremely tired of the repetitiveness of the announcing, "Mare Aime, Waverly, Three!"
A picture of a beautiful girl with wavy, brown hair and incredibly smooth skin is projected beside Louis.
Applause is given to her, but it soon dies down in favor of completing the announcing.
Louis says, "...And, to close us off, we have Annarae Hellena, Zuni, Four!"
The crowd stands and applauds until the curtains close. Louis lets out a breath of relief and quickly walks back to their ride.
"Hey," Louis, in a turn of events, visits Gwyneth's room.
Gwen cracks a smile, "Hey yourself. What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"Did you want to get married to Leo?"
"No," Gwen replies, "Our marriage was arraigned. You know that."
"Then how are you so happy with him now?" Louis asks.
Gwen laughs, "We got to know each other. So, if you were wondering if you were actually going to have a happy marriage, I'd tell you to open up and fall in love with one of the lovely girls. You have thirty-five to choose from; I had one man given to me."
"Thanks Gwen." Louis replies.
She envelops him into a hug, "You're welcome, Louis."
Author's Note:
What are descriptions and how do you accurately write one because I have absolutely no clue.
From, Slytherwitch